


A Storm Coming

by SuperPaleOrb



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Other, a new siren, lots of story and dialogue, major character death but not really, mature for some gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 12:47:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 14,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20582738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperPaleOrb/pseuds/SuperPaleOrb
Summary: Selene is the newest weapons designer at Hyperion. Little does she know she was not only hired because of her designs, but also because of other gifts she possesses. A brewing storm leads her to Pandora.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there, thanks for clicking on my story. This is my first time publishing anything that I wrote to the internet.
> 
> First a little disclaimer: I started writing this some time ago, and tried to fit it into the canon up to and including parts of Tales from the Borderlands. So anything that happened in the "Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary" DLC has not been taken into consideration.

A woman sits at the bar, a half empty bottle of rakk ale before her. Her boots and coat are covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt, turning the originally green fabric into a muddy brown. A few strands of silvery hair peek out from under the thick scarf that is wrapped around her head and neck. Her gaze is fixed on Axton, who sits at one of the tables, enjoying some pizza on his own. Every now and then, she throws quick glances at the two doors of Moxxis bar, but each time she eventually goes back to watching the Ex-Dahl soldier.

Moxxi walks over to him to take away the empty box. "Hey sugar, you might want to check on that girl at the bar. She's been staring at you for some time now."

Axton looks over to the stranger and catches her staring right at him. She quickly looks down at her bottle and picks at the label. Axton chuckles.

"Thanks, Mox." He slides out the booth he's been sitting in and stretches, then walks over to the woman at the bar, leans against it and looks down at her over his shoulder. "I heard that you are interested in me."

Green eyes look up at him. "You are Axton, right? One of the vault hunters that killed Handsome Jack?"

He smirks. "The one and only." She suddenly reaches over to him, grabs him and pulls him into an embrace. He awkwardly pats her back. "Ok, that's a new one."

She lets go of him and blushes. "Crap, I am _so _sorry. Maybe I should have went easy on the rakk ale..."

Axton laughs. "It's ok, don't worry about it. I mean usually people introduce themselves and buy me a beer first, before I let them hug me, but I'm gonna make an exception for you." He winks at her.

"Sorry, my name is Selene. And I would be an honor to drink with a legendary vault hunter like you." She motions to Moxxi to bring a beer.

He sits down on a stool next to her. "Thanks for the beer..." He musters her, trying to discern her features under the scarf. "Seems you are very happy that Jack is dead..."

"Yeah, me and a lot of other people..." She pushes her hood further back on her head.

He nods knowingly, then takes a sip of his beer. "So, have you been on Pandora for long, or have you come here to stare at me just recently?"

She chuckles. "I just arrived in Sanctuary. I found a place to stay and since then I've tried to muster up the courage to come talk to you vault hunters."

"You didn't come here just to thank _me_?" He grins at her.

"No..." She chuckles. "I came here to become a vault hunter myself. I know I don't look like much, but I want to give it a shot, anyway." Her expression is serious.

They are still sitting at the bar, chit-chatting when Jacks Doppelgänger walks in. When Selene sees him, her eyes widen in terror and she hurries out the door next to the slot machines after muttering a quick goodbye to Axton.

He turns over to Timothy, who has walked up to the bar. "Don't worry, I'll get her back." With a sigh Axton gets up and heads out after her.

She cowers beside the door, her right arm resting across her knees, the other hand at the scarf around her neck. "If you killed Handsome Jack, this must be a body double."

Axton crouches down beside her. "Yeah, he told us that he was the first one. His name is Timothy Lawrence and once he dropped the whole 'I am Handsome Jack'-act he turned out to be a nice guy. Kinda damaged but nice."

Ignoring everything Axton just said, she asks: "How good of a body double is he?" She rises with a stern look of determination on her face.

"I am not quite sure what you mean..."

"Would you excuse me for a few moments, I think I need to talk to him in private."

"Alright... Just don't hurt him."

"I won't..." she mumbles to herself, as she re-enters the bar. A brisk walk carries her over to the Doppelgänger, where she takes hold of his wrist in a vice-like grip and pulls him toward the main exit. Timothy just manages to throw a quick glance at Axton, who just shrugs apologetically.

Selene drags him towards the clinic of Dr. Zed. When Tim realises where they are going, he starts to struggle. "No, I am not going to that guy! He's a butcher!"

She stops dead in her tracks. "Dr. Zed? I am not taking you to him. My place is right next to his clinic." She lets go of his wrist. "Look, I just really need to talk to you. And I would prefer if we could talk in private." Her serious demeanour has given way to a pleading tone.

"You are not gonna murder me?"

A shy grin plays about her lips. "No, I promise I will not murder you."

"Ok... let's talk then..." Tim follows her hesitantly.

She leads him up some stairs into a dusty apartment. "Sorry about the mess, I just got here today. I am not even sure if I will stay for long..." An awkward silence hangs in the room. "How good of a doppelgänger are you?"

"As far as I know I am the only surgically altered one..."

As Selene turns on the light, she pulls off her scarf. "Can you get this off me?" She points at the collar around her neck.

Timothy takes a hesitant step towards her. "Oh shit, did Jack put that on you?" When he notices the blue tattoo on her chest, his eyes widen and he leaps back. "Shit... you're... you're a siren, aren't you?"

"Yes, y..." She cuts herself off, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, calming herself. "Did they change your fingerprints to match his?" She is slowly walking towards him.

"I don't know... I don't remember what they did..." Selene cuts him off when she grabs his face, her fingers digging into his cheek. After she closely studied his face, she grabs his wrist with her free hand and yanks it up to his eye level.

"Do. You. Have. The same fingerprints. As Jack?"

"I think so..."

She lets go of his face. "Jack told me, that only he can open it, but I am begging you, you need to try."

"Wait, when did he...? He never told me about another siren..."

"Look, that is not important now. We can talk about all of that after you get this off me." She is speaking through gritted teeth.

Tim cautiously inspects the collar and finds a little scanner on the left side. "Here we go." He starts scanning finger after finger. The collar makes a little beeping sound and the lock clicks open, when he scans one of his right ring fingers.

Selenes eyes widen. She pulls off the collar, lets it fall to the floor next to her, then slowly reaches up to her neck. She starts laughing hysterically. She pulls off the glove on her left hand and admires as small lightning bolts crackle between the now glowing tattoos on her hand. Although he is watching her closely, he still staggers when she pulls him into a tight embrace.

"It came off. I finally got rid of that damn collar! I am finally free..." She whispers against his chest.

After an uncomfortable amount of time she lets go of him. She clears her throat.

"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Selene. You're Timothy, right?"

Still a little stunned, he just nods.

"Well, it's nice to meet you." She flashes him a smile before turning serious again. "Please don't tell anyone about what has happened in here. Not anyone. I will tell my story, but I... I would like to do it at my own pace. Just know that I am not an enemy."

After that Selene picks up her scarf, wraps it around her neck and together with Timothy she returns to Moxxis Bar. Over a bottle of rakk ale Selene, Timothy and Axton share their stories, with Selene growing more quiet as the stories grow more detailed and personal.

When she finishes her bottle, she excuses herself and returns to her little apartment, leaving the two men to themselves.


	2. Chapter 2

In the late morning of the next day, Selene strolls over to the Crimson Raiders Headquarter where the vault hunters have set up their base of operations. At the door she is stopped by a soldier, who asks her what her business is at the Headquarter.

Selene straightens her shoulders and answers, "Hi, I am here to talk to Lilith. I want to become a vault hunter."

The soldier examines her. "Good luck!"

Unsure if the man underneath the helmet is serious or sarcastic, she answers, "Thanks."

Selene puts one hand on the door handle, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath. She then pushes it down, opens the door and steps inside. She raises a hand to Patricia Tannis, who is speaking into an Echo-Recorder and isn't paying attention to the stranger walking into the building. Trying not to disturb the archaeologist, Selene quietly walks across the room and up the stairs. Mordecai is sitting on one of the beds, his bird Talon on his shoulder. The bird screeches at Selene.

"Easy, boy." He turns his head to Selene. "Sorry, we're still training. You the girl Axton has not shut up about since yesterday?"

She awkwardly smiles at Mordecai, keeping a cautious eye on the bird. "I guess so..."

"Lilith's in there." He nods his head in the direction of the next room.

Selene nods her head in acknowledgement, then steps through the door frame. "Lilith? Axton told me that I should talk to you about becoming a vault hunter."

Lilith turns to face her. "Selene, right?"

"Yep, that's me..."

"Good. Sit down, let's talk." Lilith watches as Selene takes a seat. "Why don't we get straight to the point? Why do you want to become a vault hunter? Money? Fame?"

"No, I... I believe that I have some skills that could be put to good use. I came to Sanctuary because I heard of two vault hunter sirens." As she speaks she pulls off her gloves and scarf to reveal tattoos matching the ones on Liliths arm and chest.

"Whoa... I think I need to get Maya in here, asap." She turns to the door. "HEY MORDY, COULD YOU GET MAYA? I THINK SHE'LL WANT TO SEE THIS."

Selene nervously shifts in her seat. "It's just that... I rarely use my abilities... I mean, I can control them moderately well. I just... Well, I've heard the stories about a Siren being able to lift just about anything off the ground, and of course I've heard the stories about the Firehawk, who melts people. And I... I am just nowhere near that level..."

"That's alright. We'll just wait for Maya, and then we'll see what you can do."

They don't have to wait long before they hear Maya stomping up the stairs. "LILITH? MORDECAI TOLD ME WE FOUND ANOTHER SIREN? WHERE IS SHE?" Maya pauses when she sees a stranger standing in the room with Lilith. "Is that her?" She walks up to Selene, grabs her shoulders and musters her, top to bottom, before releasing her again. "It's so nice to meet another siren. May I ask, what can you do? What are your abilities?" Maya beams at her.

"Erm... if I simplify it: I can create electricity and if I focus, I can manage to create small clouds that corrode metals," Selene stammers as she takes in the warm welcome. "I just have trouble getting something big to happen..."

"Don't worry about that, we'll work on that. What do you say, Lilith, should we head out and see what our newcomer can do?"

Lilith gestures towards the door. "I am all for it, if she's up to it."

Selene, still overwhelmed, just nods enthusiastically.

The remainder of the day is spent away from the city of Sanctuary, assessing Selenes current power level. Forming lighting bolts around her fist is no problem for her, but using them as projectile or as an electrical barrier around her body, seems to lie beyond Selenes capabilities.   
After many tries to concentrate, she finally manages to form a cloud the size of a small skag. Selene directs it to an abandoned Bandit Technical, where the acid of the cloud eats away at the metal.

Maya patiently explains to Selene, how she can focus her abilities more easily, but assures her that they will train together if she wishes to do so.

Back in Sanctuary Lilith pulls Selene aside. "Hey, you got a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." Selene looks at her with a puzzled expression.

"I wanted to ask you something. Axton talked to me you know? Yesterday when you saw Tim, you freaked out and then you wanted to talk to him in private. What did you talk about?"

"Oh, I know him."

"You know Tim?"

"Well... Not exactly Tim..."

"So you knew Handsome Jack? Where the hell did he find another siren? Did he brainwash you to gain our trust and then use you against us? Like he did with Angel?"

"I... I am not quite sure what you are talking about, but no he did not. Look, I did spend some time with Jack... And I know I should have been upfront with that, but you have to understand, with the things that he told me about you vault hunters, I didn't know if I could trust you. I mean, I was pretty sure that he was blowing everything out of proportion, but I just couldn't be sure..." 

"And you expect me to just believe you?"

"We can go and ask Timothy about what happened yesterday. I was wearing a collar that severely limited the ability to use my powers. When Axton approached me at Moxxis Bar I was pondering if I should even come to you. With that collar on, I knew I wouldn't be able to use my powers in any useful way. "

Lilith is eyeing her suspiciously. "What has Tim got to do with the collar?"

"He was probably the only person who could get it off me after you killed Jack..."

Understanding lights up Liliths eyes. "Alright... Come by the Headquarter tomorrow, you can tell us everything then. And until then, don't run."

"I... I won't." Her voice is timid and her shoulders are slumped as she slowly walks home.


	3. Chapter 3

On heavy feet, Selene makes her way to the meeting with Lilith. A restless night has left dark circles under her eyes.

Today the doors to the Headquarter are left open. Reluctant, Selene walks up the stairs to find not only Lilith in the conference room, but some of the other vault hunters as well. As she looks around the room, she recognizes some faces from her short time in Sanctuary, but most of them she has seen on wanted posters. The huge man leaning against the balcony wall, she recognizes as Brick. Mordecai, the man with the bird – and usually a sniper rifle – leans in a corner. Maya is there, a reassuring smile on her face. Axton and Tim are sitting there, looking like school boys who have just been reprimanded. And then of course, Lilith, a stern look on her face.

"Good, you didn't run."

Selene swallows the lump in her throat. "Why would I? I want to be here. I want to work with you. I just was not sure if I could trust you."

"That's hilarious. For all we know you could be another Hyperion spy."

"No, I am not... Please, Lilith, let me tell you my story."

"That's why you're here today. And we got time to spare, so go ahead."


	4. Chapter 4

_She takes a deep breath before she steps through the door. Her steps echo through the expansive room that Handsome Jack calls his office. As she passes the fountains and statues, lining the path to the far side of the office, she can see the CEO of _ _Hyperion at his desk, seemingly in an Echo-Net conference. _ _When he notices her, he waves her over to him. _

_Closing in on the desk, Selene overhears the end of the conversation. "Yeah, I know you have been working hard in the last couple of days, but if the project is not completed by tomorrow you and your entire team will get a complimentary trip into space without a spacecraft. 'Kay? I'll see ya tomorrow then." Handsome Jack waves something off his Holo-Screen, then rises to greet his guest. "Selene, so glad you could make it." _

_"Thank you for the invitation, sir. Receiving a job offer from Hyperion was certainly a welcome surprise."_

_"Huh... a welcome surprise... whaddaya say, let's not beat around the bush. You're willing to leave Maliwan?"_

_"To be honest, I would not have come all this way, if I wasn't considering it. If I actually go through with it, depends on the deal that we strike today. " _

_"What would convince you to come work for me? Anything bothering you at Maliwan?"_

_"Well, I feel like I am being held back. As Hyperion holds the patent for E-Tech weaponry, experimenting with E-Tech is too expensive for Maliwan. My goal is to contribute to the next level of elemental weaponry, and since I strongly believe that the future of elemental weapons lies in E-Tech, that's what I want to work with. If you allow me to experiment, you have a new employee. And with me on board, I am certain that we can take Hyperions elemental guns to the next level." _

_"Thanks for the forecast, sweetheart. You improving our tech... I dunno, sounds like you are just trying to sell yourself." _

_A smirk plays on her lips. "I may have invested in an E-Tech weapon myself... and I may have taken it apart to study the mechanics of it..." From a screen on her wrist, she flicks up a schematic of an SMG. With a tap of her fingers, the holo-model expands, showing different parts. "This was the SMG when I disassembled it." Another tap switches out and rearranges a few parts. "This is my altered version. If my calculations are correct – which I am positive they are – you should be able to produce at less cost with greater elemental output. I will gladly pass this alteration on to you, so you can produce the gun according to my schematic. If it performs better than the old version, you have your proof that I was not just selling myself." _

_Handsome Jacks nods approvingly. "Alright. We'll build it and test it." _

_"Great. Along with the plans, I will send my salary expectations. If my design works as planned, I think they will be acceptable for both sides." _

_"You'll hear back from us in a couple of days then." _


	5. Chapter 5

Lilith interrupts her. "So, you designed guns for both Maliwan and Hyperion?"

"Uh huh... Designing guns might be a useful skill for a vault hunter, right?" Selene smiles. "I mean, I can't really build gun parts, but I can make them better, if I salvage parts from other guns."

Mordecai speaks up from the corner. "Hey, think you could have a look at my sniper? It's been acting up lately."

"Yeah, sure."

"Let's get back to the story, guys. I am guessing you took the job offer?" Liliths impatience is clearly audible in her voice.

"Yeah, two days after the interview, I got a message that they tested my gun and that it worked better than their model. So, I put in my resignation at Maliwan, packed my bags and headed to Helios."

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"Why did you decide to work for Hyperion?"

"Well, they were expanding quickly. And working for Maliwan was starting to bore me. I had worked for that company for basically my entire life. When I was still a child, my affinity for mechanics and my tattoos caught the attention of some Maliwan big shot. He came to the orphanage to adopt a kid... And he picked me. After he took me in, I barely ever saw him. But I got an education and a roof over my head, in exchange for cheap labour."

"Did you apply for a job at Hyperion?"

"No, I was thinking about changing companies, but I did not apply for anything. Hyperion sent me an invitation for a job interview and I just jumped at the opportunity."

"Do you know how they found you?"

"I am not entirely sure... I think a co-worker sold me out because I turned down his advances."

"Yikes," Axton mutters under his breath.

Selene chuckles at his comment, then continues, "When I received the job offer, I did not know that Handsome Jack was looking for Sirens. At Maliwan, I lived in my own little bubble. Of course I found out that he was looking for sirens, after I started working for him. I just kept my head down and tried to keep to myself as much as possible.

I guess that Jack knew all along that I was a siren, he was just waiting for the right moment to stop the charade." She pauses for a moment, then continues, "While we are at it, I guess I should get to the next just that. The night Jack officially found out that I was a siren. Looking back at it, he had it planned out really nicely. This happened a few weeks after I got hired."


	6. Chapter 6

_Selene's office is dimly lit, the main light source in the room are the multiple screens of her workstation. The main screen is occupied by the weekly report and two smaller screens show the schematics and the test results of the new prototype shotgun her and her team are working on. She rubs her eyes and yawns, her left hand reaches for the cup on her desk. As she raises it to her lips, she realises that it is empty. "Damn it..." She cranes her neck, looking out into the brightly lit hallway. She then looks at the little screen on her wrist checking the time. With a sigh she turns back to the screen and starts typing again. "I won't be here that much longer..." _

_Suddenly one of her smaller screen lights up with Handsome Jacks face. "Selene," He drags out her name in his usual manner. "Glad you're still here. You got a minute? I'd like to talk to you up in my office."_

_"Of course, sir. I will be right up." _

_"Perfect." Jack ends the call. _

_Selene runs her hand through her hair, cracks her neck and sighs. After typing a few last words, she saves the report, turns off her workstation, rises from her chair and stretches. Before leaving for Jacks office, she longingly looks at her coffee mug. "I should have had another cup..." _

_When she walks through the door, she does not see Jack at his desk. "Sir?" she asks into the room. _

_"Right over here, pumpkin." Handsome Jack sits on the middle of a couch located at the right side of the room. His legs are crossed, his arms resting on the back of the couch. "C'mon, have a seat." He pats the spot beside him. While she walks over to him, Selene notices a folding screen, which she is sure has not been there before. She sits down as close to the armrest as possible, trying to leave as much space between her and him as possible. _

_"You wanted to talk to me, sir?" Her eyes fixate on the folded hands in her lap. _

_"Yeah, I got a request. In two days there's gonna be a party for the big shareholders." _

_"Oh, do you need a presentation from me?" _

_"No, let me finish... I gotta look good at the event. Which means that I need a pretty lady to accompany me." Selene looks at him, puzzled. "My girlfriend is not really a people-person, if ya know what I am saying." _

_"No... I am not quite sure what you are getting at, sir..." _

_"You're coming to the party with me." _

_"Me?" _

_"Yes, Selene, you."_

_"But why me, sir?" _

_"You're killing me here..." Jack rolls his eyes. "You are the rising star of our weapons development. And also you're pretty and smart, and I wanna show off the catch I snatched from Maliwan." He grins at her, which makes Selene blush. "So, are you coming or not?" _

_"I suppose I cannot refuse if you put it like that, sir." _

_"Well, you could refuse, but it wouldn't change a thing. You're coming with me wheter you like it or not. Alright, about the dress. If you are coming with me, you need to be the belle of the ball." Selene chuckles. "So, I have chosen a dress for you." _

_Selenes smile fades. "Oh... so that's what the folding screen is for." _

_"Bingo. Now go, try it on." He shoves her off the couch._

_Selene timidly walks behind the folding screen. Her heart sinks, when she sees the dress. A tight fitted, sleeveless dress with a high slit on the left side and a plunging neckline. _

_"Aaaaand, whaddaya think?" Hearing his voice deepens the sinking feeling in Selenes stomach. _

_"It is stunning, sir. I just... I am not sure if I would be comfortable in it." _

_"Eh, you'll be fine. C'mon, put it on. I wanna see how good my sense of style looks on other people." _

_"Sir, I really don't think..." _

_"Ah, ah, ah! I am not asking Selene, I am _ telling _ you to put on the dress." His cheery tone has turned menacing. "You either put it on voluntarily, or I will put it on you one way or another." _

_"Alright, alright, I'll do it." Panic creeps into Selenes voice. She presses her lips together as she ponders if she should put on the dress over her longsleeved, high-necked jumpsuit, but having heard the impatience and anger in Jacks voice, she decides that she has to jump into cold water and put on the dress without her suit, even if her tattoos will clearly show her to be a siren._

"Wait a second." Lilith interrupts her. "You are telling me that you did not know what Jack does to sirens and you were just going to reveal yourself to him?"

"Well, first of all, I did not see a way to get out of the situation. And secondly, believe me when I say that I was ready to take him out if he tried to harm me."

"Alright, keep talking..."

_Selene braces herself as she steps out from behind the folding screen. She tries to hide her left arm behind her back and rests her right hand on her chest, watching cautiously as Jacks gaze wanders from her feet upwards, his brow furrowing more and more, the further he progresses.   
When he notices the blue tattoos peeking out from under her pathetic attempt at concealing them, his eyes widen and he slowly rises to his feet. _

_"Are those..." He is slowly walking towards her, a mixture of surprise and amusement colours his voice. _

_"Stop right where you are!" Selene raises her left arm, her tattoos lighting up. _

_Jack stops dead in his tracks. "Easy now..." _

_"I don't want to hurt you. But if you try anything funny, I will." As much as Selene tries to steady her voice, you can still hear the insecurity in it. _

_"I won't try anything. Didn't plan on it." _

_"Then why are you looking for sirens? What do you do with them?" _

_"Currently I am doing nothing with sirens, cause I haven't found any yet. But... I'm not looking for them just to kill them. I opened a vault, you might have heard about that... anyway, I found out that they are somehow connected to sirens. And since I want to open more vaults, I thought that it might help having sirens around for that." _

_"Alright... So you won't harm me?" She asks, worry furrowing her brow. _

_"As long as were on the same team, you'll be fine." He is cheery, but she can't help but notice the underlying threat. _

_She nods, then slowly lowers her hand and her tattoos stop glowing. "What happens with me now?" _

_"Well, nothing really changes." He walks over to Selene and wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. "This siren thing... it's gonna be our little secret, alright cupcake?" Selene looks up at him and nods, relieved. "And we are going to find you another dress." He lets go of her and pushes her towards the folding screen. "Go on, get changed, and get to bed. You'll hear from me." _

_Selene hurriedly slips out of the dress and back into her suit. When she steps out from behind the screen, she notices that Jack has returned to his desk. Before she steps through the doors of his office, she turns back around, calling out to him, "Good night, sir!"_

_The only answer she receives is a raised hand. _

_Once she is outside his office, she leans against a wall and takes a deep breath. She whispers to herself, "That went better than expected." A small smile brightens up her face, a weight taken off her shoulders, as she hurries to her room in the living quarters to catch a few hours of much needed sleep. _

"So after he officially found out that you are a siren, he just let you live on like before?" Liliths sharp tone startles Selene.

"I... Not entirely. When he said that me being a siren would be our secret, he meant it. After that night, I basically became a prisoner without shackles. He banned me from talking to anybody, unless it was work related, to "protect me", of course. I was watched every single day and night. One evening, I went out to a bar to have a drink or two. All was fine until a guy approached me. A few minutes after we started talking, all screens switched to a direct transmission from Handsome Jack telling everyone to back off, because I was 'off limits dating wise'." 

Lilith looks at her, doubt clearly visible on her face. "So, you became his girlfriend?"

Selene shakes her head and pinches the bridge of her nose. "No, not really. He took me on private dates but I never felt that he had any romantic interest in me." She pauses. "I... I hate to admit it, but I fell for him. Getting all that attention from the CEO of a company... It's very flattering. And that bastard was very charming when he wanted to be. But my god, did he frustrate me... he wouldn't date me but I was not allowed to date anyone else. Every time I saw him I just got angrier and angrier at him."

"Oh, boo-hoo." Lilith stands up and slams her hands against the table between them, causing Selene to flinch. "Handsome Jack was hunting Maya and me mercilessly, and he kept his own daughter locked up and pumped her full of Eridium to charge the vault key. When she gave her life to stop her own father, my boyfriend got shot and Jack used me to keep charging the vault key. Trust me, you had it easy."

"Angel..." Selenes whispers to herself. She raises her eyes to meet Liliths cold stare. "His daughters name was Angel, right?"

"Yeah." Mayas voice is heavy. A blanket of silence sinks over the room.

The next person to speak is Timothy. "When did he put the collar on you?"

"When I decided I had enough of his bullshit and finally spoke up."


	7. Chapter 7

_Selene blinks at Jack, confused as to why he is in her room. "Jack, what is going on?" Her voice is soft and she reaches out for his hand. He pulls his arm away from her and shoves empty bags into her arms. Through gritted teeth he growls at her, "Pack. Your. Bags." _

_Selene opens her mouth to speak but a look at Jacks face is enough motivation to start packing. She stuffs her few belongings into two bags, while Jack stands by the door, his arms crossed across his chest, impatiently tapping his fingers against his forearms. _

_"You got everything?" Jack snaps at her. Selene nods, worry furrowing her brows. "Good, let's go." _

_Jack takes her to the Fast Travel Station outside his office. He manually types coordinates into the Station and then tells Selene to go first. She hands Jack one of the bags, then hesitantly activates the Fast Travel Sequence. She arrives in a small, long room, a door on her right and another, heavier door on her left side. _

_Jack appearing beside her makes her jump a little. He puts his left hand on a scanner next to the door on the right. He steps inside and sets down the bag, then turns around and waves for Selene to follow him. Clutching her bag to her chest, she hesitantly follows after him. He gestures around the room he is standing in. "Welcome to your new home. I will bring you supplies once a week." He starts walking back towards the door. _

_Selene sets down her bag as well, then grabs his arm and turns him back to her. "Wait, what do you mean, this is my new home?" _

_"You are safe here, as long as you stay inside." _

_"What are you talking about? I live on Helios. My workplace is on Helios." _

_"Well, cupcake, now you live and work on Elpis. We don't know what those vault hunters might try to do to Helios and I want you to be safe. I set up a work station for you. And now be a good little siren and shut the hell up. Or do I have to make you stay here?" _

_"Hang on a second... You want me to stay here all by myself?" Her tone turns bitter. "You know what? I've had it with you. You shower me with all this attention and you take me on dates, but you won't make me your girlfriend. I will admit, it was flattering at first, but me not being allowed to date – or even make friends with someone other than you – it got old, really fast. I'll tell you what, we go back to Helios and you let me find a decent guy... And we'll forget about what just happened here. Why is it such a problem for you anyway, if someone found out that I am a siren?" When she picks up her bag, Jack, fuming with anger at her insubordination, seizes her distraction and moves closer to her. The second she raises her face to him, he backhands her across the face. Dumbfounded, she holds her cheek. She is mouthing words, but none are actually audible. Defiantly, she stares back at him, then takes off the glove on her left hand. Her tattoos start glowing, the crackle of lightning audible over her voice. "Leave, Jack. While you still can. From now on, I will live my own life."_

_"You're threatening me? You really think that threatening Handsome Jack is smart? Oh, kitten, you just made the biggest mistake in your entire miserable life," Jack growls at her. He activates his Storage Deck and pulls out a metal collar. Selene takes a quick look at it, then takes a step away from Jack, her hand raised before her. _

_"What is that?"_

_"C'mon, pumpkin, get over here." A dishevelled smile curls his lips, as he closes the distance between them, pushes her arm away from him and slaps the collar around Selenes neck. _

_"What the hell is that thing?" Selene frantically tries to remove the collar, her eyes wide open. _

_"That baby just made you my slave. You are going to obey my every command or you will be in a lot of pain. The kind of pain that will make you wish that you were dead." _

_"No, I won't..." The fear drains from her face, giving way to determination. She raises her left hand, her tattoo starts glowing again, lightning crackling between her finger tips._

_"Selene, stop." Suddenly her entire body tenses and she grunts in pain, her fingers digging into her skin beneath the collar. Jack looks at her mercilessly as she sinks to her knees. She tries to suppress the scream lodged in her throat. He crouches down in front of her and turns her face up to him, his fingers digging into her cheeks. "Stop trying to hurt me and your pain will end. Using your powers, it's not gonna work. I should also mention that you shouldn't leave your new home. It might make your head pop." _

_Her eyes fill with tears as she stares into his cruel face. With a whimper she closes her eyes. Her tattoos stop glowing. He lets go of her. When she speaks up, her voice is calm. "You will die, Jack. If the vault hunters don't kill you, I will." She opens her eyes again, ignoring the helping hand that Jack offers, when she shakily rises off the ground. _

_"I'd like to see you try, pumpkin." She leaves him standing alone as she slowly makes her way into the bedroom, closing the door behind her and then falls onto the bed, her entire body shaking from exhaustion. She buries her face in the cushion and starts crying._

Lilith crosses her arms across her chest. "So, any idea, why he locked you up all of a sudden?"

"After he took me to Elpis, he kept talking about six new vault hunters that were causing him trouble. With all the information that I have now, I think he wanted to keep me as back-up vault key charger and as far away from your influence as possible. Just in case."

"Ok, makes sense. You said Jack put you on Elpis?" Selene nods. "How did you get off the moon and to Pandora?"

After a heavy sigh, she continues, "Well, I got lucky. Kind of..."

_As Jack promised, he brings Selene a supply crate every week, filled mostly with conserved food, but also some fruit and other perishables. In the little house he has locked her up in, she has everything she needs. A kitchen, bathroom, a comfortable bed and a network connected directly to him, so she can continue working. _

_Her colleagues are told that Selene was transferred to another Hyperion location. Jack warns her, that he will let her starve to death if she somehow manages to contact anyone else but him. Furthermore, he keeps reminding her that the collar will kill her if she steps outside of her new home. _

_The first few times Jack visits, Selene mostly ignores him, only responding to questions that she thinks might improve her situation. But after realising that she can't use even a little bit of her powers without experiencing extreme levels of pain, she comes to the conclusion that the only way to get out of her prison is to convince Jack to get the collar off her neck. So she decides to cooperate and play into his delusions. When she thinks that she has gained enough of his trust, she asks him to take her collar off. Unfortunately, her request is met by a laughing fit. After Jack catches his breath, he tells her that she is hilarious, and that the collar will only come off when he opens it. To her dismay, he adds that he will never do to that. Defeated, she tells him to leave._

_The next time she sees him, he pretends as if nothing happened the last time. After he dumped her food on the kitchen counter, he starts pacing the room, raving on about how 'those fricking vault hunters' are ruining his plans. During his tirade, Selene puts away the food and ignores him as best as she can, sick of his is self-righteous whining. She had just stored a few cans on a high shelf, when she feels him standing right behind her. _

_"You know what I consider to be extremely rude?"_

_She forces a sympathetic smile and turns around. Before she can speak, his right hand closes around her throat, pushing the collar up against her jaw. _

_"When people don't listen when I talk to them." She desperately tries to pry his fingers loose, but her head is already starting to swim. _

_"I am sorry..." Her voice is barely a whisper, darkness is starting to narrow her field of vision. He lets go of her just before she loses consciousness. _

_"Don't do it again." He goes back to pacing the room and venting about his problems, while Selene tries to stifle a cough, afraid that he might see it as another interruption._

"That's all very nice, but how did you get off Elpis and to Pandora?" Lilith is growing more and more aggravated.

Selene moves around her chair uncomfortably. "I thought you wanted to hear my full story? I am telling my full story. Including every little detail so you know why I acted like I acted." She can't keep a hint of annoyance out of her voice.

" _Fine_ ..." Lilith falls back into her chair.

"After that event, I became more careful around him. I really listened to him, and when I felt that it was appropriate, I cursed you along with him.

For a while, before he locked me up on Elpis and had shown his true colours, I actually hated you guys for messing with his plans. And from his side of the story his hate made sense. He was trying to save the moon and you betrayed him and among other things, fucked up his face. He wanted to cleanse Pandora of bandits and you caused constant setbacks. You really sounded like the bad guys."

Mordecai lets out a snorting chuckle. "Yeah, he really was the hero of his own story."

Selene smiles at him. "Yeah..." A blanket of silence sinks over the room. Selene clears her throat, then continues. "At some point, being locked up in what was basically solitary confinement, it... it wore me down. Before, I had always enjoyed designing weapons, but since it had now become pretty much the only cause of communication with another human being - a person that I hated... I started hating it just as much. And when I realized that, I knew I had to escape somehow. For my last-ditch effort, of trying to convince Jack to remove the collar, I came up with one final ruse."

_They are in the kitchen preparing a meal. Selene finally gathers the courage to tell Jack about her 'plan'. "Hey, I was thinking... The six vault hunters that got away from you have banded up with Roland and the Crimson Raiders, right?" _

_"Yeah."_

_"I don't feel like sitting around any more. I want to help you." _

_"Uh...huh." _

_Undeterred by his seeming lack of interest, she continues. "I was thinking that I should infiltrate the vault hunters, telling them that I escaped your imprisonment. When I have gained their trust, I will take them apart from the inside."_

_He stands beside her, chopping vegetables. Without stopping, he shakes his head and mutters under his breath, "I can't loose you again."_

_She furrows her brow. "What do you mean 'you can't loose me again'?" He ignores her question. This time a bit louder, she asks him again "Jack, what did you mean by that?"_

_He puts down the knife, his eyes remaining on the cutting board. "What did I mean by what?" He has put on an innocent, carefree tone._

_"You just said 'I can't loose you again.' What is that supposed to mean? You never lost me before..."_

_"I don't know what you're talking about." He still has not turned towards her. "Well, I gotta go, got some important meetings coming up." He turns to walk away, but before he can leave, she grabs his wrist. _

_"Jack, stop it. Tell me what is going on. Please, whatever it is, that is going on... Talk to me."_

_He turns around to face her. "Alright, alright." Selene compassionately looks up at him. "Look, it's a long and personal story. I'll tell you another time." Again, he turns to leave. _

_Selene yanks on his arm. "Jack, you and I both know that if you leave now, you'll never tell me. The meeting can wait, it wouldn't be the first time you are running late."_

_He turns back to her. "You know what? Fine." He is angry, but there is a hint of desperation and grief lying underneath the anger. "I'll give you a short version of it. I had a wife that I loved more than anything. Together we had a daughter and the day she was born, I was the happiest man alive. Turns out our little girl is a siren and unfortunately she can't control her powers and kills my wife. And now? My kid is dead too. Killed by vault hunters. Good story, huh? You happy now? I'm leaving." He tears free from her and storms out of the room before Selene can come up with an answer._

_"_ He stopped talking to me that day. He brought me my food, but he left without acknowledging me. To be honest, I was glad to have even more free time. I had started to work on increasing my pain tolerance since I got locked up. When my last attempt at convincing Jack had failed as well, I sat on the floor for hours, trying to get my powers working to a degree that would allow me to kill Jack and escape. I had days on which it was hard to drag myself into bed because my muscles ached so much. 

But you guys killed him before I got a chance. When he didn't show up on time, I realised that he had to be dead, and I knew that I did not have a lot of time to escape before starving. I figured that the collar must work with a little beacon sending a signal to trigger the kill-switch if I leave a certain radius. So, I tore the house apart, looking for that thing. When I found it, I bagged it. After I fried the first door lock, I was in that little room with the fast travel station. Across from the station, a locker with an “Emergencies Only” sign welcomed me. In it I found an Oz-Kit along with an SMG. I took both things, then fried the second door lock, and got the hell out of there."

"So Handsome Jack had just conveniently left you everything you needed to survive on Elpis?" Liliths voice cuts Selene off once again.

"I don't think he left it for me... It's more likely that he kept it there for himself. But believe me, I was glad that those things were there." She pauses. "Look, I know this sounds unbelievable, but... please believe me..."

Lilith rolls her eyes, as everyone in the room turns their attention to her. "Alright, we'll believe you. Let's hear the rest of your story on how you ended up on Pandora."

Selene nods. "After enquiring with the not so friendly locals, I found out where the hell on Elpis I was and where the next big city was located. So, I made my way from my little prison in Vorago Solitude, over to Triton Flats, where I managed to steal a vehicle and a disguise off a group of bandits.

From there I finally found my way to Concordia. I rested there for a day, or two, trying to figure out where to go next. I knew that I couldn't go back to Maliwan and was certain, that going back to Hyperion was a bad idea as well. And let's be real, another weapons company taking me on with my résumé was unlikely as well. So, I figured I might as well go and see what you vault hunters were actually about. I set course for Pandora. After arriving, I managed to get to Sanctuary relatively easy. The same day I arrived, I found the apartment next to Dr. Zed. The next day, I found Axton in Moxxis bar, and Tim managed to remove my collar."

Lilith rises from her chair and leans on the table, her brow furrowed in thought. "So, if all of this is true, you made a very dumb decision to take a job and then you got extremely lucky to get out of your mess unscathed?"

Selene nods her head, "Yeah, that would be the very short, simplified version."

"Alright. Go home Selene. We'll have a little discussion here and we'll let you know the verdict later."

Thankful, Selene nods, then rises from her chair, slowly making her way through Sanctuary.

Back at home, she paces restlessly. The sporadic screams she can hear from Dr. Zeds clinic put her on edge even more. It feels like an eternity until Lilith finally shows up at Selenes place.

When Selene rips the door open, Lilith extends her hand. Selene hesitantly takes it.

"Welcome to the Crimson Raiders, killer." Lilith shakes Selenes hand. Even though Lilith delivers the message herself, she seems to hold a level of distaste for the decision of accepting Selene into the Crimson Raiders. 

"Thank you. I'll try my best to be a good addition to the team." Selene beams, happy at the chance that she is given.


	8. Chapter 8

A few days later at the Crimson Raiders headquarter, a meeting is taking place. Lilith looks over to Axton. "Axton, you are up with the new girl. Gaige, you'll go with Salvador this time."

Gaige rolled her eyes. "C'mon Deathtrap and Axtons turret make a good team."

Lilith sighs. "I know but I need someone to keep on eye on Selene and bring her back alive. She is our new siren after all. And a newbie to fighting situations."

Axton nods, "I'll take her to the shooting range and try to ease her into vault hunting gently."

"Sounds good. She should be with Maya and Krieg, meditating."

Axton passes through Moxxis Bar, over to the small apartment that Maya and Krieg have claimed for themselves. He lightly knocks and then enters the room to find Maya and Selene sitting on the floor, their legs crossed and deeply focused. Krieg is floating in a Phase bubble beside them, screaming about riding shiny meat bicycles.

Maya takes a deep breath and slowly breathes out all air in her lungs. She opens her eyes and looks up at Axton.

"Hey Maya, I've come to pick up Selene."

"I'll be with you in a moment..." Selenes mind is some place far away, her answer more reflex, than actual acknowledgement of his presence. Axton leans against the door frame, watching Krieg hovering in the air.

Maya looks at Axton. "He was doing so well but then his brain messed everything up again." She turns to Krieg. "I am going to let you down, but if you attack anyone I am going to put you back into the bubble."

"MAKE THE BLOOD POUR... later!"

Maya sighs. "I guess that is the best answer we are going to get..." She lets him out of the Phase Lock, dropping Krieg to the floor. He shakes his head, the argument in his head quite visible, groans and grumbling audible from behind his mask. It seems that the sane voice won this time.

Maya takes his arm and leads him outside. "Come on big guy, let's take a walk."

Axton looks over at Selene, marvelling at how she can stay so calm and focussed with the threat of Krieg going psycho right next to her. As Maya did before, Selene takes a deep breath, breathes out again and then opens her eyes. She looks up at Axton, pushes a strand of hair behind her left ear and smiles shyly. "Hey, sorry to keep you waiting..."

Axton pushes himself away from the door frame. "Don't worry about it... Lilith gave us the order to move out and I'd like to train a bit with you before we head out for our first mission."

"Wait... you and me are going out together? That's... Wow!" She smiles brightly and rises from the ground, taking the hand he offers. "I have been working on improving my powers together with Maya and Lilith."

"Yeah, they told me you made incredible progress. I want to go to the shooting range with you and have you test out a few guns, see what you can work with the best. We should also get you a shield if you don't have one yet... But let's head over to Marcus first."

"Sure, sounds good."

"Wait, something's different... The sleeve is gone, right?" 

"Yep, I figured I don't need to hide being a siren any more."

Axton and Selene walk down the stairs of Marcus' shop. Selene, intimidated by the reputation of Marcus, awkwardly keeps behind Axton, subconsciously hiding the left side of her body.

"Axton! Always nice to see you! Who is the nice lady you have brought to me today?" Marcus greets them with his booming voice.

"This is Selene and we'd like to test out different weapon types. See what works best for her. Maybe we'll start with an elemental SMG. Sirens seem to be good with them..."

"A siren, huh? Seems you are a shy one. Welcome, welcome, go on round back to the shooting range, I'll pick out a few guns and be with you in a moment." Marcus hurries off into his storage.

While Axton and Selene wait for Marcus, she braids her hair with a few quick movements. Axton looks at her, chuckles and asks: "What are you doing?"

"Oh, uhm... it usually helps me focus when I don't have to worry about my hair being in my field of vision."

Axton chuckles. "Whatever helps. Come on over, I'll show you how to stand properly." With a few instructions and light touches on her hips, shoulders and arms he corrects her into a proper shooting stance. Being physically close like this to Axton makes her blush a bit. Marcus bursts out of his storage with a Maliwan incendiary SMG in his hands and probably plenty of weapons in his portable storage unit. He hands the gun to Selene and hits a button to reveal a screaming bandit as target. She turns to Axton, a concerned look on her face.

"You will have to start shooting people at some point... This guy was skinning kids when we found him. When we are out there they will shoot at you and that will make it easier to kill them, but you should get a feeling for shooting at human shapes in a safe environment." Axtons voice is gentle.

"I guess you are right..." She takes a deep breath and takes aim. She puts her finger on the trigger, then hesitates. "I can't..." She takes out the magazine, and hands it to Axton.

"Axton, I _know _how to shoot a gun. I know how guns work because I _built _them for Maliwan and for Hyperion. I _tested _weapons for Maliwan. I just... I don't like shooting people that cannot fight back. It's not what good guys do." While speaking she disassembles the gun. "If they attack me first... fine I'll kill them. But please don't ask me to kill someone who is unarmed." She pushes the gun parts into Axtons arms and walks past him, out of the gun store, her tattoos pulsating. 

Axton reassembles the gun and hands it back to Marcus. "I think I should go after her."

Marcus puts a hand on his shoulder. "Let her go and blow off some steam, she'll come back when she is ready."

She rushes to the other end of town. She kneels down in the middle of the plaza in front of Scooters Garage. She takes a deep breath, then stretches her left arm towards the burnt out car on her left side, her fist tightly closed. Above her a storm cloud is forming, lightning strikes the ground next to her. She then opens her hand, the lightning now channelled into the car. After a moment she opens her eyes and sees The Doppelgänger standing on the far end of the plaza, looking over to her, unsure if he should come closer. He calls out to her, "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" she growls, wiping a tear off her cheek. As she gets up from the ground her tattoos stop glowing.

"I saw the sudden storm cloud and thought I would go check it out." He shrugs.

"Well, the storm is over." Even though she talked to him before, he freed her of Jacks collar, and she is well aware that this man is not Handsome Jack, cannot be Handsome Jack, deep down he still makes her feel uneasy. "I should get back to the Crimson Raiders Headquarter." She starts walking but stops next to him and looks him in the eyes. "Sorry for snapping at you like that."

He chuckles and scratches his neck. "It's alright... I know I freak you out. I freak everyone out. I am just happy when someone is not trying to kill me."

She lingers for a moment, imagining how looking like Handsome Jack must affect his life. She can't help but feel compassion for the man. Before she leaves, she puts her hand on his shoulder, a gentle smile on her lips. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'll see you around."

Selene finds Axton in the upstairs sleeping area, sitting on the sofa. Selene sits down next to him. "Hey, I am sorry about before. I wasn't angry at you." She takes a deep breath. "Look, I can kill if I have to, I did it on Elpis. It's just... When I got to Concordia and heard that the guys who killed Handsome Jack were looking for recruits, I felt like I found a new purpose. But when I aimed at that guy back there I doubted my choice and... I felt very lost all of a sudden. And well... it freaked me out a lot."

"It's ok, no harm done." He smiles at her. "So... I guess, we're just going to jump right in to the mission then?"

"Yeah, looks like it."


	9. Chapter 9

Axton waves Selene over. "Get out your shotgun, we got a few tight corners up ahead." She nods and does as he said. She lets Axton get a few steps ahead, raises her gun, then turns a corner and follows him into the alley. Suddenly a door slams open in front of her and a bruiser steps out. Axton turns around but the door is in his line of sight. Selene pulls up the nozzle of her gun, puts it under the chin of the huge guy and pulls the trigger. Blood and brains shower her. Axton peeks around the door. "Selene, you ok?"

She blinks at him. "I think all  _my_ parts are still where they are supposed to be..." 

Axton chuckles, "You got a little something on you..."

She wipes the back of her hand over her cheek. "Oh, damn it..." She retches. "I'll go look for something to clean up, if you don't mind."

"Sure, I got your back covered." Axton takes up position in the doorway, while Selene looks for and finds a sink.

She splashes water on her face and jumps a bit when she turns around and Axton is standing in front of her. "Don't do that!" She playfully punches his chest.

"AAAAHHH, my organs rupture!" Axton pretends to sink to the floor. Selene rolls her eyes and chuckles.

He straightens up again and pulls out a small piece of cloth. "You missed a few spots." Selene reaches out for the cloth, but Axton reaches past her to wet it. He then pulls her over to a lit lamp and gently wipes the remaining blood off her face.

Selene looks up his face as he cleans up hers. "Thank you..."

Axton sees the confused look on her face and quickly puts away the bloody piece of cloth.

"Can't have blood dripping into your eyes out there... C'mon there are still plenty people out there to kill." He opens up the door a crack and peeks out. "Ok, the air seems to be clear. Let's go."

She follows closely after him, keeping an eye on the roofs. Axton crouches down before rounding the next corner. "We got a group of bandits up ahead," he whispers to her.

Selene squeezes past him and peeks around the corner. She turns back to Axton and winks. "I got them." She summons a storm cloud above the group of bandits. She manages to take out three of them with lightning strikes but one of them dodges in the last second. "Ahh, shit..." She pulls a pistol out of her storage unit. With the raised pistol she turns the corner and lands a head shot on the remaining bandit. A bullet hits her, but is absorbed by her shield. "You bastard." She steps back around the corner. "I'm good, Axton, the shield took all the damage."

Axton looks at her worried. "You did well, but be more careful next time, ok?"

She rolls her eyes, "Alright, I will." She then gestures for him to move ahead. "Lead the way, big guy."

Axton points to a ledge on the cliff that is looming over the bandit camp. "You brought your sniper?" Selene nods. "Can you get up there? You should have cover behind that rock and you should be able to see most of the camp. I'll stay down here and clear out the locals with my turret."

"Sure, I'll echo you when I am in position."

Axton mostly sticks to cover and lets his turrets do most of the work for him. Occasionally he will point out a bandit hiding behind cover to Selene, who picks them off for him. Not all shots find their mark, but all bandits she aims for, hit the ground dead.

This way, they fight their way through to the goal of their mission: a stash of explosives.   
With the camp cleared, and Axton busy packing the explosives into his storage deck, Selene is keeping an eye out for stragglers that might try to creep up on him. Something odd on the horizon catches her eye. She calls Axton on his Echo. "Hey, Axton, I think you can leave the explosives where they are."

He stops. "What? Why?"

"They were meant for Helios right?"

"Yeah."

"Looks like someone was faster than us." Axton turns to the sky, where the all familiar "H" in the sky seems to have moved a lot closer than usual. "I think those shooting stars are escape pods."

"I am surprised Helios had those."

Selene scoffs. "I don't think there are enough pods for everyone, but there are some."

"Well, either way, we're here and we're taking these explosives. We'll let Lilith worry about Helios."


	10. Chapter 10

Back in Sanctuary, Mordecai is awkwardly trying to console a hysterical Tiny Tina.

"Blowing up Helios would have been my _masterpiece_... _I_ was supposed to do that..." Her wails echo through the Crimson Raider Headquarters. 

"There, there, Tina..." Mordecai is looking to Lilith for help, but she is busy, frantically trying to reach the other vault hunters to call an emergency meeting to go and check out the crashed space station.

With gathered forces, the Crimson Raiders travel to the crater that Helios has torn into Pandora. Selene wanders the ruins, stunned at both the fact that she is walking Helios again, in some way at least, and that someone has managed to destroy the space station that always seemed so indestructible to her.

Timothy is walking beside her, in a similar mood of surprise, relief, but also a bittersweet feeling of loss.

The other vault hunters are cheery, celebrating a victory for Pandora.

After assessing the situation, the Crimson Raiders break up into pairs, scouting for loot and survivors. Whether they are finding them to gather information or to kill them depends on the person.

Timothy and Selene climb their way through the ruins, sometimes having to rely on her to dissolve debris blocking their way. As they explore, a familiar sight stops them in their tracks. Among the expansive ruins, they have come across a room they both know well. A place that invokes a certain feeling of dread in both of them. Handsome Jacks office.

Among the wreckage they spot a man. A mechanical arm, apparently belonging to the man on the ground, is impaled on a spike above him. Slowly Selene and Timothy approach the corpse, crouching down beside him. As Tim turns him over, the man lets out a ragged breath.

"Looks like we found a live one." Selene mutters.

When the man regains consciousness, he sees Selene, then his gaze shifts to Timothy. He lets out a shriek, then tries to scramble away from him, but fails because of his missing right arm, hitting the back of his head on the floor, knocking him unconscious again.

Tim sighs. "I'll go wait over there." He shuffles back in the direction Selene and him came from, sitting down on a piece of wreckage, so he is out of sight.

She gently shakes the stranger, but to no avail. After a moment of hesitation, she slightly shocks the man before her. His eyes snap open, and he continues shrieking. As his eye focusses on Selene, his scream dies down into a croak.

"Hey there. Is your head ok?" she asks him with a warm smile.

Panicked, he looks around among the wreckage, then musters Selene for a moment before answering, "I think I finally managed to get a concussion... I just thought I saw Handsome Jack..." He chuckles uncomfortably.

"Yeah... about that... you kind of did see Handsome Jack... but not really."

"Uhhhh... Wait, what?" he squints at her.

"What you just saw was a doppelgänger of Jack. Actually  _the_ doppelgänger. So, not Handsome Jack, just a guy he had surgically altered to look and sound exactly like him." 

"Huh..." His gaze shifts to Timothy, who has slowly stepped out from his hiding spot. Raising his voice, he calls out to him, "Sorry for shrieking at you..."

Tim is walking back over to Selene and the stranger. "Don't worry about it, shrieking is actually one of the tamest reactions I get." The two men chuckle. The attention of the man on the ground turns back to Selene, who is kneeling to his right, mustering him intently.

"So, are you guys Hyperion? You're not dressed like Hyperion..."

"No, were not Hyperion... We used to be, but not any more. My name is Selene, by the way." As she speaks, her eyes stay glued to the strangers face.

He runs his left hand through his hair. "Rhys. Nice to meet you. I'd shake your hand, but... yeah... I'm kinda missing the right one." His hand brushes over the hole in his temple.

"What happened to you?"

"Just some hardware malfunction. Thanks for checking in on me, but I should really get going and find my friend."

"Is he here? We could help you look for him." Tim offers as he leans against some debris, lying where Handsome Jacks table has once stood.

"No, it's fine, he's not here. He's somewhere on Pandora."

"Pandora can be a dangerous place..."

"Yeah, I already had the pleasure of learning that. But I'll be fine." Rhys rises to his feet, swaying unsteadily. "After I sit down for a moment."

"Are you sure that you're gonna be fine?" Selene seems worried.

"Yeah, I've been through worse." Rhys smiles. "Just gonna sit down for a bit, and then I'll get going."

"Alright. We'll leave you to it then. Take care of yourself."

"I will!"

Selene and Tim wander off into the ruins of Helios, leaving the man to himself.


	11. Chapter 11

Back in Sanctuary, the vault hunters have gathered at the Crimson Raider Headquarters to celebrate the very likely downfall of Hyperion. Selene and Timothy join them, but they can't seem to fully enjoy the party. After a while, Selene pulls Tim aside, asking him if he would like to talk somewhere more quiet. Without saying goodbye to the others, they leave the party, making their way to Moxxis to get some pizza, and then settle in front of Scooters Garage.

They sit on the floor, looking down on the land below the flying city. They sit and eat in silence. Tim is the first one to speak up. "So, how do you like vault hunting?"

Selene hesitates. "I don't know... I enjoy learning from the others, especially Maya and Axton. Gaige is really clever. But I think she's not too fond of me..."

"Yeah, I think she has a crush on Axton and you kind of broke up their team."

"Oh... Lilith sent them out on missions together before I came along, right?"

"Jep. But I am sure she'll get over it eventually."

"Not before sending her Murderbot after me though." Selene chuckles. For a few moments, the two former Hyperion employees stare off into the distance. "So, how did you end up here in Sanctuary? From what I know, you guys were kind of trying to kill each other."

"Well, first of all, they were trying to kill me and the other guys that were vault hunting for Jack on Elpis. And coming to Sanctuary... it wasn't really voluntary on my part. After they had captured and interrogated Athena, they of course became very interested in finding me. While we were hunting for the Vault on Elpis, I had realized that I had gotten myself into a big mess, by becoming his body double. After he had the mask grafted for himself, I overheard him ordering another mask for me, because 'I was his double and I had to look exactly like him'. I was not sure how far he would go in making me look exactly like him, so I decided that I had enough and ran. I just ditched my Hyperion gear and hoped that he had not implanted a tracker in me. Guess he didn't, cause he never found me. Or maybe he was to busy with becoming a dictator..." He pauses. Selene has pulled her knees to her chest and listens to him with her head propped on her knees. He sighs. "When Lilith and the rest found me in the bandit camp I was hiding in, they dragged me back to Sanctuary. Until Athena and I could convince them that I was alright and actually not like Jack, I was a prisoner. And believe me, it took a couple of weeks of intense convincing."

"Huh... guess I got off lucky then..."

"Yeah, you did. And I don't think Lilith really trusts you. She tolerates you, and your story has given her enough points to think that you are very likely not working against her and the others, but she does not trust you."

"Huh... do you think that it will get better?"

"I honestly don't know..."

"I guess, I'll just have to show her, that I am on their side... or at least against Hyperion." Selene stretches, then gets up. "I think I should get going, I _really_ feel like taking a shower after crawling through the ruins of Helios."

Timothy accompanies Selene the short distance to her home. Before unlocking the door she turns back to him, "Seeing all those people that survived the crash of Helios got me thinking... do you know what happened to Opportunity? You know, the shiny city that Jack was building?"

"As far as I know, the builders were driven out and construction just stopped. A couple of buildings should be finished."

Selene thinks for a moment. "Wouldn't it be great if we could give the people stranded on Pandora a home? I mean, not all Hyperion employees are evil. And now they lost their home because the company they worked for was run by assholes."

"You have a point... I just don't think that Lilith will approve. She hates Hyperion with a passion."

"Yeah I figured as much... and I don't blame her." She pauses. "Actually, what about the people that Hyperion screwed over? Like the folk in Overlook and their skull-shivers... Wouldn't it be great if we could give those people a home as well?"

"Lilith might actually approve of that. And it's like spitting in the face of Jack when we 'filthy bandits' settle there."


	12. Chapter 12

Early next morning, before heading to the Crimson Raiders Headquarter, Selene quickly checks-in with Dr. Zed. A man is lying on one of the operation tables of the clinic, screaming at the top of his lungs and writhing in pain. Suddenly he starts coughing and then just as abruptly stops breathing altogether.

"Ah crap, not another one..." Dr. Zed lets his buzzsaw fall out of his hands and shakes his head.   
Selene clears her throat, drawing his attention to her. "Do you need help, doc?"

"Selene, would cha mind to give this guy a little zap?"

"Sure, I'd love to... If I get a discount on that shield I've been keeping an eye on." She grins at him mischievously.

"Ah fine, ya got it." He waves her over and stands back from the operation table. Selene takes off her gloves and puts her left hand on the dead mans chest. When her tattoos start glowing and lightning dances between her fingers, the man on the table jerks up. She takes her hand off him and both her and Dr. Zed intently watch the patient. When he doesn't move, Zed tells her to shock him harder. Selene shrugs her shoulders and zaps the man again. With a deep gasp, the second shock brings the man back to life.

"One formerly dead patient alive again." Selene beams at Dr. Zed. "So... about my shield..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll give it to ya for half the price. Come back in an hour or so, will ya?"

"Alright, I'll see you later."

Elated, Selene makes her way across town. At the Crimson Raiders Headquarters she greets Tannis, then heads upstairs. Lilith is brooding over the map in the middle of the room. Selene leans against the door frame.

Without looking at her, Lilith grumbles at her, "What do you want?"

"Could I have a minute of your time?"

"Yeah, sure." With an annoyed sigh Lilith finally looks up at Selene.

"Thank you." Selene steps into the room. "Seeing Helios like that... broken and shattered on the surface of Pandora... it got me thinking." She pauses for a moment. "I know how much you want to eradicate every trace of Hyperion. What if we claimed Opportunity for the Crimson Raiders?" With a hopeful smile on her face, she waits for Liliths answer.

"What do you want with that shiny heap of trash?"

"Just imagine how pissed Jack would be if we settled in the city." Hearing this, brings a faint smile to Liliths face. "I would like to make Opportunity into a safe haven for people that were wronged by Hyperion. To keep people safe from the psychos and cannibals on Pandora."

"You know what? That sounds like a good idea. Mostly because it would really piss off that dead piece of shit."

"Thank you. If you'll allow me, I'll gather a team and head out in the next days."


	13. Chapter 13

Selene props up her sniper rifle against her shoulder. Axton checks the magazine of his assault rifle. Gaige summons her Deathtrap, gleefully anticipating the fight ahead. Tim is staring up at one of the giant golden statues of Handsome Jack. Selene steps up behind him, and puts one hand on his shoulder. "It must be weird to see yourself as such a huge statue..."

"That's not me. The first thing we'll do is take down the rest of these awful things, alright?"

"Sounds good to me. But first we have to get rid of the current inhabitants."

"We could clear them out ourselves... or we could try and find a Constructor and override it to get some Loaders as backup."

"Booooring, DP and I vote for clearing this place out ourselves." Gaige speaks up. "You didn't bring me and Axton for nothing, did you?"

Selene chuckles, "No, we didn't. Alright, let's do this ourselves then."

The team of four heads out, Axton taking the lead, Selene and Tim on the flanks, and Gaige as the rear guard.

It's not long until they find the main gathering of psychos, raiders and other bandits. Gaige sends her Deathtrap into the makeshift camp, Axton sets up his turret with a shield as a barricade. Selene and Tim seize the moment of confusion and circle the camp. Tim summons the Digi-Jacks as back up, before ducking behind some cover, firing off a few shots from safety.   
Selene runs for higher ground, taking a few shots at bandits while moving. By strategically placing a few acid clouds she manages to corner a small group of psychos below her. She surrounds herself with a cloud and jumps down at them. The second the cloud touches one of them, a burst of electricity runs through his body and pops his head off his body. She puts a burst of incendiary SMG rounds into his two buddies, setting them both on fire. She stands over the smouldering corpses, the cloud around her fading. From around a corner, a psycho charges at her and manages to hit her with his buzzaxe before she can react. Her newly acquired spike shield flings the man against the wall, knocking him out in the progress. She turns and puts a bullet in his head, then mumbles to herself, "Good thing I bought that shield."

Moving in from three sides, the vault hunters clear out the camp, chasing the remaining bandits through Opportunity and taking out the ones that settled in other parts of the city.

After a short while, they manage to find a functional Constructor and with the combined effort of Gaige and Tim, they get it to work again and digi-struct Loader units, that they use to barricade the bridge leading into the city. While Gaige and Tim reprogram the Loaders to guard Opportunity, Selene and Axton head out again, to double check if they found all bandits hiding out in the city.


	14. Chapter 14

After securing Opportunity, the team of four returns to Sanctuary. They have a little celebration for a job well done. Selene and Tim are just as happy about clearing Opportunity as Axton and Gaige, but they both seem distracted at times. After a while, they leave together, heading for Selenes apartment.

The next morning, Selene is shuffling through the papers on her sketching desk. She has already packed a small bag with clothes, which she has left beside the open door. Axton enters without knocking, sees the bag and then Selene shuffling through her sketches.

He sneaks up behind her and whispers in her ear: "Can I help you find whatever you are looking for?"

Startled she turns around. "Oh, hey Ax. Could you please stop scaring me like that?" Grinning, she turns back to the table and moves away the top drawing, revealing a detailed blueprint of a pistol. "Ah, there it is." She rolls it up and carefully puts it into a tube, containing other rolled up sheets of paper. "Could you get everyone together at the headquarter, I would like to talk to you guys about something." She closes up the tube and slings the attached strap over her shoulder.

Axton looks confused. "Are you leaving? Cause it looks like you are leaving..."

"I'll explain everything over at the Headquarters. Now be a darling and get everyone together. I'll finish up a few things here and I'll be over in a few minutes, ok?" She gently shoves him out of her apartment, sets down the tube next to the bag and pulls the door closed behind her. "Go on, I won't be long." She leaves him standing in front of her door and disappears into Dr. Zed's clinic. As usual, she is welcomed by some guy screaming at the top of his lungs. "Hey Doc, are you there?"

Dr. Zed peeks his head out from behind the curtain. "I'll be there in a second. Just gotta finish this fella up."

Selene boosts herself up on the operation table in the middle of the room and dangles her feet. "Take your time!"

After a few seconds the screaming stops and Zed steps out from behind the curtain, covered in blood. "Well, this fella ain't in pain no more."

Selene chuckles. "Good for him, I guess." She hops down from the gurney. "I came by to pay my rent." She pulls out a bundle of cash.

"That's an awful lot of money..."

"Yeah, I might be gone for a few months and only plan on a few short stops in Sanctuary, so I thought I would bring you some money up front. I would very much like to keep the apartment as back-up, if you don't mind... "

"Heck, nobody wants that apartment anyway. I'll keep it free for ya!"

"Thanks, Doc!" She smiles and strolls over to the Crimson Raiders Headquarter.

In the meantime, Axton rushes to the Headquarters to tell Lilith that Selene seems to be leaving. Lilith sends Brick to guard the Fast Travel Station in case Selene tries to make a run for it without explaining herself.

When Selene walks in, Lilith is leaning against the edge of the map table, Axton is pacing the room. Mordecai hangs back at the door to the balcony.

Selene looks around the room. "Is that everyone who's in town?"

Lilith nods. "Yep."

"I asked Tim to come by as well but he seems to be running late... I'll just start without him then... I guess Axton already told you that I am leaving...But before I left I wanted to tell you what is going on." She pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. "I really enjoyed my time with you guys, but I am just not sure if vault hunting is the right thing for me. I think I can help you better if I... well if I go back to my old job."

Lilith shakes her head. "Are you telling me you want to go back to Maliwan? Do you think they will take you back after you sold their designs to Hyperion?"

"No, I know that they won't take me back... I just  _really_ miss designing guns and seeing them being realized." Tim storms up the stairs and skids to a stop next to Selene. "And, that is why I recruited Tim for my cause... We are taking over Hyperion." 

Lilith and Axton stare at them dumbfounded. "You what?!"

"Look, Hyperion has been almost decimated to non-existence when Helios crashed... I figured that they desperately need new ideas to get back into business. We will present them a new business plan that will change the company image. A plan that will include making amends for the crap that Handsome Jack did to this planet."

"And if they don't like your plan? Because it won't earn them enough money?"

Tim speaks up for the first time since he entered the room. "Then we will tear down what is still left of them."

"So you two are gonna run off because you want to rebuild a soulless corporation?"

Mordecai puts his hand on Lilith's shoulder. "Lil, let them go. I don't think they are abandoning our cause. It might be good to have a weapons manufacturer on our side."

Selene smiles at Mordecai. "It's as Mordy just said. We won't be going far. For now, we will settle in Opportunity, so if you call us, we will be there to chase back the evil Vault monsters or whatever might show up in no time. We just want to have back some sense of normality. And I am sure we can work out a discount for our vault hunter friends."


	15. Chapter 15

Selene and Timothy settle into two adjoined apartments in one of the finished buildings in Opportunity. In the next few days they plan out the transmission they will send out all over Pandora.

With some manuals they found in the data storage of Hyperion servers in Opportunity, they manage to get the transmission station in the city running again and enhance its signal so it can send their message out all over Pandora.

Together they go over their script several times to make sure that the actual transmission goes over without a hitch.

Since this will be Tims first appearance as himself, and not as the Doppelgänger of Jack, they decide that they will need to emphasize that he is not the same person as Handsome Jack. To do this, they have organized a black, clean cut suit for him. They hope that the changed look and speech pattern will be enough distinction between the egomaniacal former CEO of Hyperion and the gentle man that Tim is.

When the time has come, Selene braids her hair, leaving out a few strands, to make her look less formal. Timothy is messing with his hair, trying out different styles, trying to find the one that makes him look the least like Jack. After a while, he gives up and just slicks his hair back. He turns to Selene, "What do you think?" His insecurity is written all over his face.

"Very different to Jack. But is it Timothy?" 

"I don't know... being yourself when you look nothing like yourself... it's hard. I looked nothing like this before... I was a nerd... I had freckles." 

Selene cups his face in her hands, "Tim, sweetheart, I know that has to be tough, but believe me, you'll be just fine." She adjusts his shirt and his jacket. "I need you by my side. I will draw in the ones that hate Hyperion, and you will draw in a lot of the people of the Helios crash." After adjusting her own collar a last time, she takes her position in their little improvised transmission studio. "I'm ready."


	16. Chapter 16

Echo-Recorders, radios and other transmission receivers all over Pandora activate simultaneously, producing a clear and calm voice.

"People of Pandora, please lend me your attention for just a short while." Those with screens see a silver haired woman, blue tattoos on her chest and left arm. "My associate and I," Tim steps into the frame, "used to work for Hyperion. Like many of you, we have suffered at the hands of Handsome Jack and the company." 

Tim speaks confidently, "Now that he is dead and Helios has fallen, we have decided that it is time to make amends. We will rebuild Hyperion. But we will do things differently. Profits will not benefit only the higher-ups. They will be distributed among all workers."

"We have retaken Opportunity, the city Handsome Jack had intended only for the richest Hyperion employees. Come work for us and you and your family will have a safe home on this dangerous planet."

"We want to provide a safe haven for those that were wronged by Hyperion, but we also invite those that were previously employed by Hyperion. If you are willing to work for a company that is trying to fix its past, you will be welcomed with open arms. Together we can build a better future. For this and coming generations." 

"And to the survivors of the crash of Helios: Don't be afraid to join us. No judgement will be passed. With shame we admit, that we have stood by idly, while this planet was ravaged because of the false ideology of one man. But no longer will we close our eyes to the suffering that Handsome Jack caused. Please come to Opportunity, where, together, we will build a company that is not driven by greed but by solidarity." 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> I know, the ending is kinda sequel-baiting. But maybe one day there will be an AU where Tim and Selene take down other weapons companies. But for now, this is the end ;)
> 
> And a very special thanks to my boyfriend who acted as my editor and suffered through multiple versions of this! <3


End file.
